1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to layered structures which are useful for the simultaneous formation of diodes and associated conductive paths, to diodes and associated conductive paths formed in such structures and to memories formed from a plurality of such structures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the art that a diode can be formed by positioning a metal wire point contact on a semiconductor body and passing an electrical current through the wire. The current must be sufficient to locally melt and diffuse metal atoms from the tip of the wire; the diode is formed in the zone of contact. Also known in the art is a programmable read-only memory (ROM) in which a certain type of a thin insulating layer on a substrate semiconductor is subjected to an electrical breakdown to form an electrical contact with a preformed diode in the substrate semiconductor. Presently known means involving electrical breakdown of a thin, insulative metal oxide film require heating, to first form a diode at each memory location by thermal diffusion, depositing the insulating film over each diode and then metalizing, using vacuum techniques. A distinct need exists in the semiconductor memory industry for a ROM which is conveniently and reliably prepared and electronically writable at a fixed voltage to form structures singly or in an array, each structure comprising a conductive path in series with a simultaneously formed stable diode. A need also exists for an analogous alterable read-only memory (AROM), that is, wherein such conductive path-diode structures can be switched "off" or "on" (hereinafter referred to as OFF and ON). Further, a need exists for a random access memory (RAM) in which such conductive path-diode structures can be switched rapidly between ON and OFF a very great number of times.